If it is so important to the left to stop Sarah Palin from running for President, then it is that much more important that she run - and win!

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Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Governor Palin has written another op-ed piece for the Washington Post. As usual, she has taken a topic that is of major importance to America and made it available to Obama and his minions to heed. Let’s just hope they listen because Sarah chooses her words very carefully and shoots them straight from the hip into the heart of the matter.

This time she is addressing her view of what I consider the Copenhagen attempt to sell America to the United Nations by forcing a totally unnecessary “treaty” regarding something that doesn’t even exist – global warming. She titled her article “Copenhagen’s Political Science.”

She makes reference to the recently leaked emails revealing the hoax that provided a Nobel Prize and an Oscar for Al Gore. Perhaps that’s why he never paid any attention to his own abuse of our environment.

These emails show that the very scientists who shout “global warming” to the top of their lungs actually doubt the temperature records they have published and used to back their now-refuted statements. They deliberately destroyed records, manipulated data and, as Sarah says, “tried to silence their critics by preventing them from publishing in peer-reviewed journals.”

She correctly notes that the agenda being pushed in the Copenhagen meetings will not change weather, but will succeed in changing the American economy negatively.

According to the leaked documents, there was never any real consensus among scientists that the claims they were making regarding the alarming rise in temperatures was based on solid facts.

Governor Palin knows a good bit about environmental policy as this quote from her article reveals:

This scandal obviously calls into question the proposals being pushed in Copenhagen. I've always believed that policy should be based on sound science, not politics. As governor of Alaska, I took a stand against politicized science when I sued the federal government over its decision to list the polar bear as an endangered species despite the fact that the polar bear population had more than doubled. I got clobbered for my actions by radical environmentalists nationwide, but I stood by my view that adding a healthy species to the endangered list under the guise of "climate change impacts" was an abuse of the Endangered Species Act. This would have irreversibly hurt both Alaska's economy and the nation's, while also reducing opportunities for responsible development.

The Sarah we know and appreciate is so much nicer in her writing than I am sometimes. I could learn from her, I’m sure. I have never believed there is any such animal as global warming in the first place, but Sarah recognizes our changing weather patterns in a way that I do not. One of the things she did as Governor of Alaska was to create a sub-cabinet which dealt specifically with these changes.

In her op-ed, Sarah points out that it is impossible to state that man’s activities are responsible for our weather changes. She also notes that any potential benefits of policies aimed at reducing emissions pale in comparison to their economic costs. She provides evidences that the proposals by China and India allow them to increase their emissions while Obama wants to seriously reduce America’s carbon emissions which would require Congress to pass the cap-and-tax plan resulting in more job losses and higher energy costs for all Americans.

Governor Palin correctly notes that energy prices skyrocketed in Europe following the EU’s own cap-and-tax program and that Australia’s Parliament defeated their cap-and-tax proposal. America isn’t alone it seems in questioning climate change legislation.

Once again hitting the nail squarely on the head Sarah has provided what we all suspect is Obama’s real reason for going to Copenhagen to see America go down the United Nations’ drainpipe.

In his inaugural address, President Obama declared his intention to "restore science to its rightful place." But instead of staying home from Copenhagen and sending a message that the United States will not be a party to fraudulent scientific practices, the president has upped the ante. He plans to fly in at the climax of the conference in hopes of sealing a "deal." Whatever deal he gets, it will be no deal for the American people. What Obama really hopes to bring home from Copenhagen is more pressure to pass the Democrats' cap-and-tax proposal. This is a political move. The last thing America needs is misguided legislation that will raise taxes and cost jobs – particularly when the push for such legislation rests on agenda-driven science.

Without trustworthy science and with so much at stake, Americans should be wary about what comes out of this politicized conference. The president should boycott Copenhagen.

Yesterday a man attempted to hit Governor Palin with tomatoes at her book signing at Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota. He missed by a mile, hitting a police officer instead, which got him arrested. Read the story here.

Though some have made jokes of the incident, I don't find it funny at all. This wasn't the first time during the Going Rogue book tour that some coward has attempted to show his aversion for the Governor by firing some food item at her.

Upon my return from the Rochester book signing, I shared my account of how a man entered Borders shortly after she left, voiced disappointment that he had arrived too late, and then hurled eggs at a display of her books. The yolk splattered on me, and the Egg-Man was then apprehended by the police. Read that blog post and see the pictures here.

Egg-Thrower, who had stated that he let his emotions take over, apologized several times for splattering me with eggs and offered to pay my cleaning bill. Clearly, he was not sorry for the real offense: his intent to allow his insane hatred to cause the Governor embarrassment, if not actual harm. This is obvious by the article he wrote, which was published in The Buffalo Beast.

I park behind an Uno’s Pizza joint and make my way on foot. Hmm… no deluded zealots, and no patchouli-soaked hippies. Am I too late? I march past the door. The place is a wretched mess. Many people are milling about, but it seems like the end. There’s a news van outside and a woman appears to be giving an interview. I ask a clerk what happened here. “Sarah Palin” was her response. I ask if she’s gone. “Yes.” I’m only minutes late. My hand goes for the egg in my pocket. “I’m sorry I missed her,” I say. In one motion, the egg is out and I’m pitching it full force at a pyramid of Palin books. In slow motion I see the oblong, white missile fly true towards its mark. The egg loudly smashes into Palin’s grinning, idiot face, and chicken menses splatters the entire pyramid.

[...]

Next, a small herd of people gather around me. A black woman, whom I thought to be a reporter when I saw her in Borders, is front and center. Maybe she’ll take my story and turn this sad and ridiculous fiasco into something worthwhile. Wrong. Each of the crowd is holding Palin books, including my imagined African American savior. They are pissed Palin pals, and apparently, I’d gotten them with egg. The woman complains that she was up since 3 am for Sarah, and now she has to change her clothes. I receive multiple dirty looks and lectures. I graciously offer to pay their dry cleaning bills, but they represent the Party of No and predictably rebuff my generosity. I give them my reasons, and they warn me not to believe the “lame media” conspiracy against Sarah. To them, any facts are mere fabrications of a media conspiracy. We are no longer able to reason together, as they’ve discarded rational thought as a trapping of liberalism. I’m lucky Sarah’s not here, they vaguely threaten. I imagine a helicopter swooping out of the sky and a crazed, grinning Palin blasting me with a high-powered rifle, like so much helpless endangered wildlife.

You can read the rest of the article here, but be prepared to be annoyed if you expect to find even a hint of remorse in his words. In spite of damaging over $800.00 worth of books, "I still don't care," he wrote. And why should he? According to him, he received a huge discount from the store and was smiling and yapping it up with Borders employees and Rochester police officers. Yeah, that ought to teach him!

I still cannot figure out how it is that conservatives are coined as hateful, intolerant souls when it seems that Liberals are the ones who go on the attack whenever someone doesn't agree with them and won't sit down and shut up. I've said a million times that nobody has to agree with anybody; that's life. If a person doesn't like Governor Palin, he is entitled to that. But when that dislike turns into entering a public place and trying to assault her, it's crossed way over the line.

I chose not to bring charges against the man in Rochester, but I'm glad this Minnesota character was thrown--at least temporarily--in the slammer. A loud and clear message needs to be sent to miscreants who feel they have a right to take pot-shots at her--or anyone else.

Do these incidents embolden others? First eggs, now tomatoes. No, not funny.

Following the incident, the Governor tweeted the following (emphasis added):

Finishing up great MN event w great Americans who r geared up 4 Christmas;as w everywhere we traveled, staff&security have been outstanding

Sarah Palin is rightfully a happy woman tonight. Why? Because after all of her hard work as Governor, Alaskans, and really all Americans, are finally going to be able to access one of the richest oil and natural gas deposits in America.

We were looking for something from Sarah tonight, and this comes as a nice surprise:

Drill, Baby, Drill... Even Off-Shore

I commend Interior Secretary Salazar’s decision today to conditionally approve drilling at three exploratory wells in the Chukchi Sea off the northwest coast of Alaska; it’s a decision that’s been a long time coming. The area north of the Arctic Circle contains some of the world’s richest oil and gas reserves. U.S. Geological Survey researchers estimate that it contains 1.6 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 83 billion barrels of undiscovered oil.

The international community recognizes the potential of Arctic off-shore drilling; it’s about time our government allowed us to compete with them by developing these rich reserves in an environmentally responsible way. As I said last April in my testimony before the Secretary during a federal hearing in Anchorage, "Alaska’s oil and gas resources can and should be a major part of the implementation of any creditable energy plan for our nation. Alaska has proven that these resources can be developed safely, but Arctic exploration and development is a slow, demanding process. Delays or major restrictions in accessing these resources for environmentally responsible development are not in the national interest or the interests of the State of Alaska."

As an Alaskan and an American, I am very grateful for the decision today because it is a step in the right direction toward prosperity for Alaska and energy independence and security for America.

- Sarah Palin

This is actually quite a development today considering that Obama’s hand appointed radicals over at the Environmental Protection Agency just declared the very air you breath "dangerous." Or more specifically, they declared the air you EXHALE dangerous.

We written for months about the radical crazies that have hijacked the so-called "green" movement. We’ve written how these communists are using the global warming hoax to gain unprecedented governmental powers and control over the population.

The communists intend to use the greatest lie ever told (global warming) as an excuse to re-distribute wealth on a global scale. Ahhh, the Marxist’s dream.

To the point: Today, for the first time in history, the radical, out of control, Environmental Protection Agency has declared a naturally occurring substance, in this case, carbon dioxide, a danger to human health.

Carbon dioxide has existed for billions of years. It is an essential element for all plant life to exist. For those who never actually went to school, which is evidently everyone at the EPA, most in Congress, and most certainly all of those in the White House: Humans need oxygen to breath, to live. In one of the neatest bits of our creator’s engineering, plant life, in turn, needs carbon dioxide to live.

Again, for those without the benefit of schooling: Humans, animals, and even fish, breath in oxygen, and exhale carbon dioxide. (CO2) But this is OK, because plants take in CO2 and through photosynthesis, "exhale" oxygen. This is one of the most ingenious set ups in all of nature.

This is why what the EPA has done is ludicrous to anyone with a lick of common sense. If CO2 was truly a bad thing, the solution would be as simple as planting more trees. Oh wait! We already do that!

News:WASHINGTON – The Environmental Protection Agency took a major step Monday toward regulating greenhouses gases, concluding that climate changing pollution threatens the public health and the environment.

The announcement came as the Obama administration looked to boost its arguments at an international climate conference that the United States is aggressively taking actions to combat global warming, even though Congress has yet to act on climate legislation. The conference opened Monday in Copenhagen.

The EPA said that the scientific evidence surrounding climate change clearly shows that greenhouse gases "threaten the public health and welfare of the American people" and that the pollutants — mainly carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels — should be regulated under the Clean Air Act.

"These long-overdue findings cement 2009's place in history as the year when the United States government began addressing the challenge of greenhouse-gas pollution," said EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson at news conference.

The action by the EPA, which has been anticipated for months, clearly was timed to add to the momentum toward some sort of agreement on climate change at the Copenhagen conference and try to push Congress to approve climate legislation.

"This is a clear message to Copenhagen of the Obama administration's commitments to address global climate change," said Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., lead author of a climate bill before the Senate. "The message to Congress is crystal clear: get moving."

Under a Supreme Court ruling, the so-called endangerment finding is needed before the EPA can regulate carbon dioxide and five other greenhouse gases released from automobiles, power plants, and factories under the federal Clean Air Act.

The EPA signaled last April that it was inclined to view heat-trapping pollution as a threat to public health and welfare and began to take public comments under a formal rulemaking. The action marked a reversal from the Bush administration, which had refused before leaving office to issue the finding, despite a conclusion by EPA scientists that it was warranted.

Business groups have strongly argued against tackling global warming through the Clean Air Act, saying it is less flexible and more costly than the cap-and-trade bill being considered before Congress. On Monday, some of those groups questioned the timing of the EPA's announcement, calling it political.

"The implications of today's action by EPA are far-reaching...individual Americans and consumers and businesses alike will be dramatically affected by this decision," said Charles T. Drevna, the president of the National Petrochemical & Refiners Association. Drevna, in a statement, said "it is hardly the time to risk the remainder of the U.S. industrial sector in an attempt to achieve a short-term international public relations victory."

The EPA and the Obama administration threatened to do this when their cap-and-tax bill first began to stall out. The determination of CO2 as a pollutant — which is patently ridiculous on its face — allows the White House to bypass Congress and begin dictating to producers on carbon emissions reductions.

In other words, this is yet another end run around Congress by the most radical and corrupt President in our nation’s 233 year history. A total usurpation of our Constitution’s separation of powers. It violates the idea of checks and balances our founders built into government.

This little ruling by the EPA gives them virtually unlimited power to regulate, literally, every facet of your life.

By classifying CO2 and methane (among other so-called greenhouse gases) it can inject itself into just about every industry in the US.

Energy production will be its primary target, but the EPA has also gone after coal mining on the basis of the Clean Water Act. It will certainly not be shy about using this new authority to kill coal mining altogether.

Now don’t forget that coal is our most abundant form of energy in America! We have several hundred years worth at present rate of usage.

Also, don’t forget, that China uses a lot of coal fired plants to generate electricity, and they couldn’t care less about the quality of air in the world. They don’t have the environmental protection mandates we do. Never will.

This nonsense will also impact agriculture, especially dairies and cattle ranching, as well as transportation. The entire manufacturing sector will have to answer for its "carbon output."

To put it gently, cow farts are now considered hazardous, and if you eat at Taco Bell a lot.....

This sort of thing would be funny if these loons weren’t serious.

This really is the worst of all outcomes. The EPA process can be restrained by Congress, but it will take positive action for that to happen, and in most cases, would take capitulation from Barack Obama himself. Not likely from someone who thinks like this:

As you listen to this guy babble on, searching for whatever talking points his puppet master programed him with, remember this: This video was posted on You Tube on November 2, 2008. On that very day Sarah Palin demanded an explanation from the San Francisco Chronicle, who conducted this interview, as to why they had held this video from public view so long, especially since it was done in January of 2008!

The Chronicle, at the time, responded by noting that the video had been available on their website since January 17th of 2008. However, the Chronicle never reported on these quotes from Obama, and these statements certainly seem noteworthy enough to include in any look at Obama’s policies on energy.

Even more nefarious, is the fact they never provided a transcript of the interview, an almost automatic step for any meeting between national political candidates and the editors of a newspaper.

Why didn’t the Chronicle transcribe their meeting in the nine months between January and November?

Did they realize how damaging this could be to Obama’s hopes in the middle of the primaries and chose to quietly shelve the interview?

Not only does Obama talk about destroying the coal business, bankrupting it, he also shows an extraordinary amount of ignorance when it comes to nuclear power. This nimrod is supposed to be such a man of the world, an "intellectual heavyweight,"and yet he doesn’t understand that we have had a nuclear powered Navy for over a half century, well before he was born! Nor does he have the ability to comprehend that in France, 78 percent of it’s electricity is generated by nuclear powered plants. FRANCE!

In this clip from the same San Francisco Chronicle interview Obama arrogantly states, point blank, that under his plan electricity rates would "necessarily skyrocket."

Let’s see, unemployment is at a 25 year high, energy is already costing too much, and this radical communist and his out of control EPA are going to take steps that will not only make our energy prices "skyrocket" but also drive absolutely every single manufacturing job we have overseas.

This is so far past irresponsible, and even reckless, that someone smarter than I will have to create a new word. Although feckless and treasonous just seems to roll off my tongue.

If you deliberately set out to destroy a nation, collapse it’s economy, I don’t think you could do a better job than Obama and his thugs are doing right now. Throw in "health care" and you have a complete recipe for destruction! Every single thing these people are doing is counterintuitive for those seeking success.

I really don’t get it. Our founding fathers fought a Revolution over a whole lot less than this. What is it going to take for the American people to say enough, is enough?

I know we all sit back and say "2010" but with less than a year into his presidency, Obama has shown that he has the capacity, and desire to create a considerable amount of damage that will take us years, if not decades to recover from, if it’s possible at all.

Think about it. It took Reagan almost all of his 8 year tenure in office to see America recover from the disaster that was the Jimmy Carter presidency. Even then, some of Carter’s lasting legacies are still helping destroy America today. One only has to look to the Community Re-Investment Act, the Carter idea that led to our currently distressed economy, because of the sub-prime mortgage bubble. Of course, not learning their lesson, the democrat/communists are working to get back into the same shady business that has all but destroyed the real estate market and the banking industry nationwide. They are pathologically stupid.

Another lasting legacy from Carter is the Department of Education, that was created under his guidance. This little jewel should serve as a huge warning to all of those who tell you not to sweat it, they’ll just undo whatever dangerous, reckless, or treasonous legislation Obama and his corrupt Congress enact when they take back Congress in 2010. (the latest GOP nonsense)

When Ronald Reagan ran in 1980 against Carter, one of the issues he ran on was shutting down the brand new Department of Education. It never happened, and our kid’s education has been in steep decline ever since.

As Reagan himself was quoted saying: "The closest thing the world will ever experience to eternal life is a government program." What this means is if we don’t defeat all of this before it becomes law, we’re done.

About the only way Congress could stop the EPA’s effort to seize control of our lives, without Obama, would be to defund the agency, or at least its regulatory efforts. That certainly won’t happen with the current Congress. And again, 2010, and the mid-term elections, seem a lifetime away.

We live in dangerous times. Our nation, our way of life, is under assault by the most corrupt group of liars, cheats, thieves, and radical malcontents in our nation’s history.

What are you prepared to do?

Just as I was getting ready to publish this entry, I get an e-mail from a colleague. This sort of puts it all into focus, for those that still may not understand. You see, there is this huge "carbon credit" trading scheme out there, already in place. The idea being that "carbon credits" will be bought and sold like stocks on the various stock exchanges. Al Gore is involved in this kind of scheme, and stands to make billions if a cap and trade system passes.

The whole idea is this: Businesses will be arbitrarily assigned "carbon allotments" which amounts to the maximum amount of "pollution" (CO2) a business can emit. And these allotments will be assigned to pretty much every business there is. Now, if a business somehow is frugal with their mythical "pollution" (CO2) and doesn't use their credits, they can sell those credits to companies that are going well past their allowed amount of "destruction to the environment."

Now, let that soak in.

If these people really cared about the environment, really cared about global warming, they would just set up a standard, and fine businesses that failed to meet that standard. We already have some of that. But this cap and tax scheme has absolutely nothing to do with helping the environment, and everything to do with enriching a select few.

What got our attention though, is where this particular exchange, the CHICAGO Climate Exchange is located! Why is it all roads to evil lead to Chicago? The Chicago Climate Exchange is up and running already. There's an impressive list of members all chomping at the bit to start buying and selling carbon credits, for a profit. One has to wonder just what the exact number of Obama cronies is who are part of this racket.

This brings up another question that was discussed in follow up e-mails to this revelation. Where are the liberals? No, not the moonbat, hateful "progressives" but what we call the "classic liberals." The ones that, while being wrong on a lot of things, at least had some integrity about them. We know these people exist.

Just think of it this way. What if it was Haliburton, instead of the environmental loons and crooks, who was putting all of this together? Where would liberals be on this then? Also, isn't big business and capitalism supposed to be "evil" to the so-called "progressives?" Didn't Obama's buddy Bill Ayers make a name for himself by bemoaning capitalism and pushing communism? (and well, blowing stuff up, and killing cops...allegedly)

I mean the whole mantra from the left has been about going after "the man."

By the way, does anyone know what the first entity was that really pushed the idea of "carbon trading?"

Remember that little company called Enron?

That's right, one of the larger financial scandals in our nation's history, revolved around their trading schemes. Carbon trading was their next big scam coming down the pike before it was found out that everything they did at Enron was just smoke and mirrors, kinda like the Obama administration!

One could carry on about this for days and days, but the bottom line is this. Global warming, or as they now call it "climate change" (how ridiculous is THAT) is a hoax. It is indeed the greatest lie ever told. Yes, there are some true believers. Flat earthers who are easily manipulated. People who simply reject common sense for dogma. But for the most part, this hoax is about two things: Power and money. The power to control mass populations, something that is a congenital desire in the sociopaths who populate the democrat/communist party leadership. Money, well that's only for the select few who drink the Koolaide. Those who join the religion of the left. The rest of you are not important, except for generating tax revenue, so they can keep their phony-baloney positions intact.

I ask you again, what are you prepared to do?

One last thing, for those that are still skeptics of us "global warming skeptics" or as I like to call us, "people with the ability to think for ourselves", read this lengthy story from Time magazine, entitled The Cooling Of America, dated December 24, 1979. The hysteria de jour back then was the coming Ice Age, and the moonbat left was just as certain back then that we would all freeze to death if we didn't "do something" as the moonbats who preach the lie of global warming are now! This is a must read if you want to understand just how little science there is to "climate science." You can read the story here.

Oh, and by the way, I do believe in climate change. In Texas, this time of year, we see the climate change a lot. It can be 70 at mid day and in the 30's by nightfall. It can be 30 and snowing one day and 65 and sunny the next. It's called the weather, people!

I have corresponded with C4P regular commenter, known publicly as Bestbud, for a while now. He and his wife are both Governor Palin supporters, and Bestbud has patiently awaited an opportunity to meet the Governor. Just a few days ago he saw her in person at the College of the Ozarks. As promised, he emailed me about the experience and sent pictures.

First let me share with you a comment he wrote for my post called "Going Rogue with Governor Palin in Rochester, NY," written after I returned from volunteering at the Rochester book signing. Read that post here.

November 24th:AdrienneSorry to be late to comment... your tweets kept me excited and I could feel your pride.. I hear people say all the time how great it is to be around Sarah and can't wait for my chance Dec 2 at College Of the Ozarks.

A few days later he sent me this email:

November 27th:Adrienne

I commented on motivation truth but wanted to let you know again how moving your experience was to read...

My wife and I are getting ready to go Dec 1st to hear Sarah at the College Of The Ozarks.. It's almost here and Im so hoping to get a chance to meet Sarah and experience a little of what you describe... I know Im going to come away with something special and real and inspiring for having gone.

I'm hopeful some day to meet you along the way... would love to do so... I'm wanting to serve in some way and have been prayerfully seeking a path to do so... I don't know yet how that might come true... Have never before felt so compelled and inspired, this last year following Sarah has made it certain... I don't know how to go about It or who to talk to but hopefully there is a way.

I was very glad to hear from Bestbud after he and his wife attended Governor Palin's speech. He shared this account:

College Of The Ozarks 12/2/2009

Keeter Center Dinning Hall--I can't describe the setting... rustic but ornate might work. The setup and meal and service totally done by students.

Sarah entered and walked along a roped side wall and front wall to the center table of the hall, no fanfare, no introduction, just the stir of everyone turning to let us know... finally a round of applause broke out... I wanted desperately to stand up and yell, "Sarah! Sarah!" but Gina put her hand on my knee and I knew it was for the best... this is what I don't like about formality... a tie chokes the life out of spontaneity... my common sense, she deserved better. The only downer of a great evening but I had to say it.

Gina and I at the most formal dinner setting of our lives... look at that salad!... wrapped in a baked thin piece of pastry--MY OH MY!... and we paid WHAT for this! Coats and ties and formal dresses everywhere... Where are Chuck and Sally Heath when we need them? They did not attend the dinner or Convocation and we learned later at the Convocation they looked in on closed circuit TV while taking care of Trig.

I must say this at this time!... these were the only tickets I could have ever obtained when I called... and I only got them by the grace of God and the nicest Lady (Becky Brown) you could ever talk to... I knew nothing about the College and had been inquiring--she would answer question after question and the more she told me it became clear this was a special place and a special Lady named Sarah was going to be there for special reasons... the occasion sounded too good to be true. Becky Brown said... I think I might!... I interrupted, is there any way?...how many do you need?.. just two(2)!... I have two left!... she offered them to me.

I floated to the kitchen saying I got them!.. don't know to this day how I got there.

I alluded to the cost above... $250 each, quite Hefty to say the least, for our ordinary lives.

Here's the heavenly part of all this... I learned when the tickets arrived that all but $46 dollars of each ticket would be a tax deductible contribution, meaning $408 total goes to the College.

I knew from my heart of hearts and Sarah's heart... she would NEVER charge for her appearance at such events as this.

Now this is another heavenly part of this... we learned during the convocation in which each veteran recognized was awarded "Great American Awards," Sarah was the inaugural recipient by the way... that the money raised from these tickets goes to support a college program called "Patriotic Education Travel Program" whereby students travel back to the battlefield, with a veteran of that battlefield, to educate the younger generation about the sacrifices made and so their stories never die.

What more could you ask of your money...going to such a worthy cause? It's why after I had been talking to Becky Brown, I said, how long had you been working on getting Sarah?... a year!, she said, and I replied Im not at all surprised.

A side note... after arriving at 2:00 PM at the gate to the College and finally getting to proceed into the Keeter Center at 4:00Pm, I was asked my name and when I told the lady, she said... I remember talking to you... looked at her badge... Becky Brown!... she said go on in, never asking for my tickets.

I am constantly blown away by the people Governor Palin has touched and brought together: young, old, black, white, people from various walks of life--from America and beyond!

Governor Sarah Palin stopped in Sioux City on Sunday as part of the book signing tour for her new book, Going Rogue: An American Life. I had hoped to be there, but alas I was not one of the 625 who had books signed and able to shake her hand. As always any stop in Iowa brings about 2012 speculation. Carl Cameron of Fox News reported live:

Now when politicans come to Iowa, I've beenguilty of jumping on the "oh they are definitely running" bandwagon. So I'm not faulting speculation (though has any other tour stop brought out nationalnetworks and even internationalattention?). I’ve said that while I hope she runs I have no idea of whether she will run. She has certainly been influential and effective in promoting common sense conservatism without a title.

Though that hasn’t stopped people from taking swipes at a potential Palin candidacy. In an AP article Eric Woolson was quoted:

But some questioned whether Palin could turn her star appeal into votes in a state where face-to-face campaigning has usually played an important role.

Republican strategist Eric Woolson worked for Democrats early in his career, and he saw some comparisons to the campaign of former Sen. John Glenn. The former astronaut drew huge and admiring crowds when he ran for president in 1984 but that didn't translate into votes.

"They went to see John Glenn the astronaut, not John Glenn the Democratic candidate for president," Woolson said. "A tremendous amount of her appeal is as Sarah Palin the celebrity, as opposed to Sarah Palin the potential 2012 nominee."

Just some background on Eric Woolson, he’s currently working for Bob Vander Plaats Gubernatorial campaign. He also worked for Mike Huckabee’s campaign in 2008. Maybe he’s just jealous that Huckabee didn’t have near the turnout for his book signing in West Des Moines.

Steve Scheffler, head of the Iowa Christian Alliance and the Iowa National Committeeman on the Republican National Committee in the article said:

…many people were attracted to Palin because "they like Republican leaders who call a spade a spade."

But, he said, the former Alaska governor still has a lot to prove.

"Her biggest challenge will be to convince people she's got the depth to be a successful president," he said. "In the perilous times we live in, people are going to want to know if she's up to snuff."

I agree with Scheffler in his assessment why people are attracted to Palin, but I think what he said about her having a lot to prove could be said about a good number of potential candidate, including Mitt Romney, who was also only a one-term governor, and not a very effective one at that (RomneyCare, governing as a liberal).

Listening to Jan Mickelson on WHO Radio this morning people who called in were saying. She “represents our values,” “she’s trustworthy,” and “I think she’d straighten out the party, Congress” (though has there ever been a President able to do that). So Woolson’s claim that it’s just celebrity appeal is unfounded.

Then there’s it’s Iowa of course she’s running mantra ala Tim Albrecht (former Romney staff, now working for Branstad Gubernatorial campaign) in the same AP article.